At least two men went into a small convenience store on Cherokee Avenue, he said.

One man stood at the door with a semi-automatic rifle. The other man went to the register to get money, Turner said.

That's when the clerk grabbed his pistol and fired several shots, and the thieves ran off, according to Turner.

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Dawn London, a woman who works at the store, was off at the time but she was on the phone with the clerk and heard everything happen.

"I just still don't believe it happened," London said. "It's just unreal, especially when you're just catching what you're catching through the phone. You don't know what's going on. You just hear gunshots and people screaming."

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The man who had the rifle, Lee Tate, was later found lying in the back yard of a nearby building, Turner said. Tate was suffering from two gunshot wounds when officers found him, according to Turner.

Tate was taken to the hospital, treated, released, and then booked into the jail, Turner said.

News 4 spoke to the clerk's father, who said police told him the robber's rifle jammed, keeping him from firing it.

"The policeman said he'd be dead if the gun hadn't jammed," Bobby Poole told News 4's Mike McCormick. "If they come back, they're going to get shot again. If it had been me, I would've shot them."

The clerk was not hurt.

"He did what he did in self-defense. Had the gun not jammed, that they were trying to attack him with, he wouldn't be here today. It was a miracle of God that the gun jammed and he was not shot," London said.

According to staff at the Cherokee County Detention Center,Tate was released from custody there at 5:45 p.m. on Monday, about two hours before he allegedly robbed the store.

Tate had been in jail on charges of public disorderly conduct and threatening a public official, according to the Detention Center.

On Tuesday, at about 3:30 p.m., Gaffney detectives charged 19-year-old Demond Jabarr Guyton with armed robbery in connection to the holdup.

On Wednesday, deputies said they apprehended and arrested two other men. Tyrus D. Davidson, 25, and Shawmund Shrock Wray, 26, are both also charged with armed robbery.